Oklahoma Car Insurance

According to Oklahoma car insurance law every vehicle that is registered in the state and is drivable on state roads must maintain minimum amounts of liability coverage. If a vehicle is not covered by an insurance policy with at least the following amounts of liability coverage it is illegal to operate. The first type of liability coverage required by Oklahoma is individual bodily injury or death coverage which covers the cost of any injuries or death that resulted from an accident for a single individual. The minimum amount of individual bodily injury and death coverage required by the state of Oklahoma currently sits at $25,000; vehicles that are insured with less than this amount will not meet Oklahoma car insurance standards. Oklahoma law also requires residents to purchase liability coverage for injury or death of multiple people, the minimum required amount of which is $50,000. Bodily injury and death coverage for multiple people is basically just the total amount that the insurance company will be required to pay for the injuries to multiple people involved in an accident. If an Oklahoma motorist has only $50,000 in bodily injury and death coverage for multiple people but the total costs of injuries for an accident exceeds $50,000 they will still be personally responsible for covering the gap between the insurance and he actual cost of an accident. In addition to bodily injury and death liability coverage Oklahoma State law requires a third type of liability coverage, known as property damage liability coverage, to be maintained on every vehicle registered in the state. Property damage liability coverage serves to reimburse other drivers for damage to their property that was sustained in an accident caused by the policy holder. The minimum amount of property damage liability coverage required by state law is currently $25,000. When an Oklahoma resident purchases an insurance policy they are typically free to purchase more coverage than is required by the state, an option that many drivers take advantage of due to the rather low minimum coverage requirements.

Although maintaining liability coverage is generally seen as a requirement for every driver there are some Oklahoma residents that may be in a position to avoid the purchase of a liability insurance policy by proving financial responsibility in some other way. Unfortunately, these other options are generally only available to residents that meet certain requirements or have a level of personal wealth that allows other options to be pursued. Like many states, Oklahoma allows residents to opt out of buying a liability insurance policy if they can obtain a surety bond from a company licensed to sell the bonds within the state. Oklahoma auto insurance law also allows resident to make a cash deposit in the amount of $75,000 with the Department of Public Safety or some other authorized institution instead of buying an insurance policy that meets state requirements. Self insurance is perhaps the best known alternative option to a liability insurance policy but it also tends to be the option available to the least amount of people. For a vehicle owner to be able to take out a self insurance policy in the state of Oklahoma they must have at least 25 vehicles registered in their name, a qualification that not many drivers are able to meet. Additionally, if a driver is unable to take advantage of any of these other options and also cannot obtain an auto insurance policy voluntarily from an insurance company there is a program known as the Oklahoma Assigned Risk Auto Plan that drivers can take advantage of. The Oklahoma Assigned Risk Auto Plan is designed to help drivers that are considered uninsurable by insurance companies either due to a history of accidents or blemishes on their driving record. If an Oklahoma driver is accepted into the Oklahoma Assigned Risk Auto Plan they will be paired with an auto insurance company that will be required by the state to write them an auto insurance policy for their vehicle.

Although Oklahoma is one of the few states that maintains an online verification system that will allow government officials to immediately check the insurance status of a vehicle drivers are still required to provide proof of insurance if they are pulled over or involved in an accident. If a driver has a liability insurance policy the insurance identification card will suffice but for drivers that’s satisfied proof of responsibility in another way a copy of the certificate or letter from government worker may be necessary. If a driver cannot provide proof of insurance on the scene they run the risk of being punished with up to $250 in fines and potentially 30 days in jail. Suspension of an uninsured driver’s license and registration is a common penalty as well, though the length of the suspensions will vary from case to case.